The Philadelphia 76ers (8-16) play the Charlotte Hornets (7-20) at home on Friday night. This will be the final regular season matchup between the two teams, and having won the last three contests, the Sixers will go for a season sweep. Here’s a preview of what to expect:
Game Info
Date: Friday, December 20th, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
Where to Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
Injury Report
Sixers: Jared McCain (left knee; meniscus surgery), Caleb Martin (right shoulder; impingement), Justin Edwards (G League; Two-Way), and Pete Nance (G League; Two-Way) are ll OUT, while Joel Embiid (right sinus; fracture) is considered QUESTIONABLE.
Hornets: LaMelo Ball (left calf; injury management), Tre Mann (disc; irritation), Brandon Miller (left ankle; sprain), Grant Williams (right ACL; tear), KJ Simpson (G League; Two-Way), and Nick Smith Jr. (G League; On Assignment), Mark Williams (left foot; injury management) are all OUT for tonight’s game.
What to Watch For
Of course, the biggest question mark going into tonight’s game is Joel Embiid. The big man finally turned a corner with his left knee troubles last Friday against the Indiana Pacers when, while battling Bennedict Mathurin for a defensive rebound, he was accidentally struck in the face by Mathurin’s forearm and suffered a fractured sinus.
With the Sixers resting much of this week during the NBA Cup tournament, though, Embiid’s been able to get some much-needed recovery time. He was listed as questionable to return as of Friday afternoon.
With the slew of injuries the Sixers faced early on, the big three of Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George hardly shared the court together at all. In fact, last Friday was the first time the trio had played together for more than six minutes. (Of course, that six minutes early on in the season was cut short by Paul George hyperextending his knee). Embiid being able to play tonight would obviously be a huge boost not only for the team as a whole, but also to continue building his game and figure out a flow with PG.
But regardless of whether Embiid plays or not, the biggest areas of focus for the Sixers need to be taking (and making) their threes. The Sixers have actually played relatively well with the three-ball as of late.
During Monday’s matchup against the Hornets, the team shot a season-high 42.1% (16-for38) from deep while Tyrese Maxey put up his second 40-point performance of the season. The team will need Maxey to dominate offensively even more so tonight – and for the foreseeable future – while standout rookie Jared McCain is sidelined after a left lateral meniscus tear. Aside from Maxey, expect strong shooting performances from Kelly Oubre Jr. (who has made a solid 12 of 25 attempts from deep this month) and veteran Kyle Lowry off the bench.
Additionally, Paul George has an opportunity to etch himself in the NBA history books further. After taking over Jason Terry to earn the number 10 spot on the All-Time Three-Pointer list on Monday, PG (2,285) is just six treys away from taking over number 9, currently held by Vince Carter (2,290). This will certainly be a fun storyline to follow in what has otherwise been a difficult season.
